Travel writer and dog-friendly guidebook author Lottie Gross explains the one major asset she looks for in a dog-friendly hotel.
We all know there’s a difference between dog-friendly and dog tolerant. You probably know the signs to look out for: dogs allowed in the bar or restaurant for meals, dog beds provided, reasonable dog fees (not £50 per dog per night, please), or even a dogs stay free policy. But there’s often just one sign that a hotel will be very dog-friendly: they have their own resident dog.
Earlier this year, during the research for my Dog Days Out London book (publishing April 2027), I checked into The Mayfair Townhouse where I was told that if I asked for Mr Darcy at the front desk, I’d be greeted by the dapper pug that belongs to the General Manager – a frankly enormous green flag for any dog-friendly hotel. Upon asking, I was told he was in a very important meeting and wouldn’t be around for an hour or so, and so I had to eat my breakfast without him before heading out for my own meetings. But I was assured he’s an important member of the team – he’s even got his own profile on their website.
But Mayfair Townhouse isn’t the only hotel with live-in canine companions. On a tour of the Fife Arms for my Dog-Friendly Weekends Scotland book last summer, I was greeted by the wet noses of Lo and Mac, a pair of gorgeous working labradors who spend their days hardly working at all. I met them snoozing in reception, where they greet guests with nose nudges and get occasional homemade biscuits from the chefs in the kitchen.
But what’s it like for a dog living in a hotel? I asked Lucy Bright, owner of The Ashleigh in Bournemouth. She and her labrador-German shepherd cross Jet have been welcoming dogs and their humans to their seaside town property for the last seven years. But, as the owner of a reactive dog, I wonder how Jet copes with the rollcall of four-legged guests checking into his home.
“He understands that lots of people and dogs come and go, and he understands which area is his and which area is the hotel. I’ve got a swing door that goes between my private area and the hotel side and he knows he’s only allowed into the hotel when he’s called,” says Lucy.
She also recently took on Sage, a rescue Belgian malinois who is typical of her breed: very clever and deeply determined. “Jet has two brain cells,” says Lucy, “one is for food and one is for tennis balls. Whereas Sage is very clever, she can open doors, she knows what to do to get what she wants.” There is now a bolt on that swing door between the two sides of the hotel because Sage found her way through within ten minutes of arriving in her new home.
Lucy makes it sound idyllic: “They get the leftovers from breakfast, they get lots of treats and love from guests, and they are so good with all these different people in their house.” They also get one big walk a day between check-out time and check-in time, and they’re free to play with visiting dogs in the garden if they so wish. So it’s not a bad life for a hotel dog.
What’s news in the dog travel world?
In a slightly unhinged turn of events, two dogs were recently married at the Montagu Arms in the New Forest in a ceremony where the owner said neither dog – Luna the labradoodle and Reggie the labrador – really had a clue what was going on. Presumably, they have put their pawprints on the paperwork and will be honeymooning in the New Forest.
There’s a new party house on the market for group stays in Nottinghamshire: Stoke Hall has a pool, a walled garden, a cinema, cocktail bar and even a sauna and steam room. It sleeps 18 people and three dogs and costs around £100 per person per night.
Finally, the Rose & Crown in County Durham has launched a ‘sniffari’ walk to encourage owners to slow down with their dogs while on holiday and let them stop and sniff. You can walk the six-mile route with a map from the hotel before heading back for a cracking, locally-sourced dinner at the hotel.
Just back from… East Anglia & Hampshire
As I write this, I’m cosied up on the sofa with the dog in my room at Chewton Glen, a hotel I’ve wanted to review for several years. The hotel is famous for its treehouses – they’re utterly ludicrous – but we stayed in one of their Croquet rooms which look out onto a beautiful manicured lawn and have their own terraces for al fresco breakfasting. Dogs aren’t allowed in the dining room in the main hotel, but The Kitchen by James Martin does some gorgeous seafood – I had the softshell crab bao buns and then a cracking pot of meaty mussels – and breakfast can be taken in the room, dressing gowns and all.
I’ve also just returned from a week of book research in East Anglia where I stayed in two exceptional dog-friendly homes: the Carpenter’s Shop in Norfolk, which allows unlimited dogs and has its own enclosed paddock for zoomies; and ARC Thorpeness, a 115-year-old water tower converted into a chic, sleek holiday let for up to 20 people and two dogs, with its own pool and mesmerising panoramic sea and countryside views from the top floor of the tower.
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